São Paulo City Hall is offering a special opportunity for a qualified Harvard undergraduate to intern with São Paulo Carinhosa (“Caring São Paulo”), the city government’s policy initiative for early childhood development. Established in August 2013, São Paulo Carinhosa works across a wide range of city secretariats, including education, health, social development, social assistance and human rights, to promote physical, motor, cognitive, psychological and social development of children between zero and six years old.

 

São Paulo is the largest city in South America, with nearly 12 million inhabitants living within its legal boundaries and nearly 20 million people in the greater metropolitan area. It is home to more than 860,000 children between zero and six years old, many of whom live in low-income neighborhoods on the periphery of the city. Supporting vulnerable children and their families has been identified as a key strategy by São Paulo’s administration to promote fairness and opportunity among its citizens. 

In recent years, as part of a six-institution collaborative partnership (http://www.ncpi.org.br/), Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child and David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies have been deeply engaged with early childhood development in Brazil, aiming to generate, integrate and act on scientific knowledge for large-scale impact. Through faculty research and the Executive Leadership Program on Early Childhood Development, Harvard has provided important inputs to São Paulo Carinhosa’s creation and design.

The IOP Director’s Internship will immerse a Harvard undergraduate in the complexity and challenges of transforming legislation into real programmatic and policy action in a 21st-century megacity. The selected candidate will work with São Paulo Carinhosa’s leadership to identify and support specific projects that suit his or her abilities and interests. The position is an excellent opportunity for students interested in policy, management and/or social and economic development. It will be of special interest to students passionate about reducing poverty and inequality through public services such as education, health and social assistance. The intern will gain first-hand experience with city government and child development in São Paulo and have the option to participate in the Executive Leadership Program on Early Childhood Development at Harvard in mid-August as a capstone to the internship experience.

The ideal candidate for this Director’s Internship will have:

•         Advanced verbal and written communication skills in English and Portuguese;

•         Strong academic record with a demonstrated interest in public policy issues;

•         Exceptional personal and organizational skills with high sensitivity to the political and social context in which they will be working;

•         An ability to adapt within complex, dynamic and challenging environments; and

•         A high degree of maturity, reliability, self-motivation and professionalism.